In late November and December, job seekers may find themselves focused on holiday shopping, parties, travel, and entertaining rather than finding a new job. Likewise, late in the year employers may be focused on year end results, budget planning, and performance reviews, putting recruitment and open positions on the back burner. Once January rolls around, it is a great time to ease back into taking productive steps to achieve your professional goals.

If you are considering a job change, use your New Year’s resolutions to clarify your vision and values for the year, and incorporate those into your job search. Taking the time to revisit your personal vision and values and determine what brings you joy, what you’re great at, what pays your bills, and what contributes to your personal identity will allow you to determine where to focus your job search and land a position where you can thrive. Do you desire a career change or advancement in your current career? Are you dreaming of a move to another location, a simpler lifestyle, or furthering your education? How do these hopes and dreams translate into the type of position you are seeking?

Once you’ve achieved a focus that feels right, the following strategies are time-tested and effective:

Share that you are actively searching for a job with friends and family in order to get the word out.

Keep an open mind and conduct informational interviews to gather as much information as possible and leave yourself open to new possibilities.

Use online resources such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and others; set up job alerts through these sites.

Brush up on your interview skills and polish up your resume.

Focus on building up your self-confidence, self-esteem, and communication skills.

A new year, a new you, and your energy and enthusiasm will go a long way in making your professional dreams a reality!

We Are Here to Help

The dedicated group of professional staff members and trained volunteers at the Linda & Rudy Slucker NCJW/Essex Center for Women assists women who wish to return to the workforce with resume writing, job coaching, interview skills training, LinkedIn and computer classes. Our services are confidential and our programs are non-sectarian and open to all women, regardless of religion. Contact us. We can help.

It’s 2018 and time to take stock. What did you resolve to do differently this year? Exercise more? Learn a new skill or hobby? Eat less sugar? Maybe you will join a gym, sign up for a class or buy a new diet book.

But maybe your resolutions are different this year. Perhaps you’re considering how to make your time count and be purposeful in your life. Or, maybe you’re taking stock of the time you spend with others. If so, consider volunteering as a way to help keep your resolutions. As a volunteer, you can discover new avenues to meet people and focus the coming year on things you care about.

Whether its hours, days or weeks that you volunteer, you start to feel the impact of the time you spend helping others. At NCJW/Essex you might help a client select an interview outfit at the Career Closet, cook meals for families in need, collect feminine hygiene products for economically disadvantaged women or be present on the other end of the phone when a woman calls because she doesn’t know where to turn. When you help a woman in transition you feel the value of your time.

Volunteering is engaging and helps you meet interesting, community-minded people. Everyone gets involved for different reasons: to attend a rally about gun safety, to teach teens about dating abuse or to lead a self-esteem workshop to help women change the way they feel about themselves… and the list goes on. At NCJW/Essex, volunteers include a rich diversity of people who share a like-minded goal – to make an impact on their communities.

Volunteering is a resolution that you can keep in 2018! It’s a resolution that will open your eyes and your hearts to people who value your time. It’s a resolution that will introduce you to new friends to involve in your life. If you want to explore volunteer opportunities with NCJW/Essex, please contact me at dstambler@ncjwessex.org. Even if it’s on a small scale, it can make an extraordinary difference in a single life.